The birthday girl and her mom take on the dining plan 11/12 - 11/22

[Chelley00]

Last review for today:

DD loves seafood so we had to eat at Coral Reef!

We were given a table right next to the window

There were divers in the tank, and they kept coming by to blow kisses, smile for cameras, crawl down the wall like Spiderman etc. They kept all the kids entertained. The bad thing about being so close to the tank is that the flash reflected off the window and glared, and it was too close to take a good picture without the flash

Anyhow, on to the food! Sorry for the once again dark pictures. I didn't want to use the flash as we had people sitting VERY close to us

DD and I both opted for the creamy lobster soup. DD said she would have been happy just eating another bowl of that for dinner and calling it a day!

The waiter brought DD a "special birthday drink" before we even had ordered anything

I ordered the Pan-seared Seasonal Catch which was grouper - with wild mushroom and scallop risotto with cherry root Nage finished with parsley-truffle oil

It was very very good. The grouper was cooked very well and the risotto was very tasty. The sauce was rich but the fish was light so it balanced well.

DD ordered the kids mahi mahi with broccoli and mashed potatoes

She loved the fish and cleaned her plate. Then she moved onto dessert, the kids create your own sundae

I had the Baileys and Jack Daniel's mousse. I could have had another. It was so good. The alcohol was not overpowering, but you could taste it.

Our waiter was FABULOUS. This was one of the two best servers we had on our trip. He kept checking on us, and got down on his knee to talk to DD at her eye level. He made her feel quite grown up and wished her a happy birthday when we sat down and again when we left. He also brought her the smoothie without her asking for it.

This was probably one of our top 3 favorite meals of our trip. DD loved watching the fish/sharks/turtles/divers swim by, the food was very good and the service was top notch. We'd definately do this one again!

 

[Chelley00]

are you sure it was Yakitori house? it looks like what we had in the Chinese counter service lunch????

Crap it was China. We did the Japan Kim Possible thing on Sunday. Off to change it! Thanks for correcting me!!!!

 

[Nutz4Dsny]

Loving your reviews. Keep them coming. We leave on Saturday for our mother/daughter/granddaughter (age 8) trip. Can't wait ..

 

[Chelley00]

Loving your reviews. Keep them coming. We leave on Saturday for our mother/daughter/granddaughter (age 8) trip. Can't wait ..

You'll have so much fun. I wish we could have taken my mom, but she doesn't travel well

 

[KatMark]

oooh...food looks yummy at Coral Reef. We've not been there in about ten years or so...perhaps it is time for another visit.

 

[Chelley00]

November 14th Animal Kingdom


My original plan was to order the Picnic in the Park, but I hadn't written down where to order them, and by the time I got around to figuring it out, it was late and we were hungry and not wanting to wait! Instead, we headed towards our usual AK haunt. Flame Tree BBQ.

DD settled for a hot dog (ick) with grapes, carrots and an apple juice.

Once again we tucked her carrots away for later.

I ALWAYS get the BBQ chicken salad. This time I decided to be different, and how I wish I would have just stuck with my original thought because I love that salad. I ordered the turkey sandwich with cole slaw. The turkey was good, but the bun was just huge and it totally overpowered the turkey. I just wasn't impressed. However, DD and I split the key lime pie mousse for dessert and we both really liked it.

We did make sure and walk to the way rear of Flame Tree for seating and had a great view of Everest!

 

[Chelley00]

Mid-afternoon found us at Rafikis Planet Watch. It was hot, and we were ready for a snack!

DD's first Mickey bar of the trip (and actually, it was her last! I can't believe she didn't ask for it again!)

 

[Chelley00]

Tonights dinner we payed out of pocket, and ate at

Totally not my idea of a good place for dinner, but I knew DD, my animal lover, would totally enjoy it. And she did. Check out her reaction the first time the monkey started in

DD ordered a blue raspberry slush in the fun cup

We ordered a lobster dip appetizer. It was really mustardy tasting, but still good.

DD went with grilled cheese and fries

I couldn't decide, so I went with an easy standby, the steak

The steak was flavored nicely (their steak butter is yummy!) but it was tough and pretty fatty. I was disappointed for the price, but I know better than to order a steak unless I'm at a steak place, so this was totally my mistake.

We skipped dessert tonight since we had leftover brownie and zebra domes in the fridge in our room.

Rainforest was okay. We had a good waiter, but it's so freaking noisy in there. DD loved all the animals hanging around and moving. I'm mixed on the food. It tasted good, but maybe another entree would have been better.

 

[Chelley00]

oooh...food looks yummy at Coral Reef. We've not been there in about ten years or so...perhaps it is time for another visit.

You snuck in the middle of a couple of posts! I had read some icky reports about Coral Reef before we left, but we really enjoyed it. The fish and sides were really good and well cooked. I was very happy with it

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

I'm sooo excited you decided to do a dining review as well as your TR!!! I love hearing what other people think of restaurants. By chance..do you know if at Flame Tree they are offering the corn muffin with the chicken and rib dishes. The first had it and then took it off and I heard they put it back on the menu but did you see it when you were there?? They are sooooo yummy!!

Those ice cream stands at Rafikis are a life saver. When I worked the kids clubs at AK, our one club was after you got off the train before you go to Rafiki and we would hear daily how much people loved that you could get a drink or food so far away from everything else!!

Can't wait for more!

 

[Chelley00]

I think I have time for one more before I head to pick up kids from school and start nightly taxi service for them

November 16 Epcot.

Today was our first wake up call day. Man, we hate getting up early, but we love early morning breakfasts to be the first in the parks! Today we head towards Restaurant Akershus.

First stop, pictures with Belle. DD remarked that she came out of her little area to greet each person and walk them back to the room before the picture. We thought that was different, as before Belle stayed put in the room and welcomed people in.

We both skipped the cold buffet as we are not huge breakfasts eaters anyhow. We're good with the hot plate only. We divide and conquer. We split the eggs and potatoes, she eats the sausage, I eat the bacon. We did get seconds on the potatoes.

Our waiter was really good and quick to refill glasses and ask us if we needed something. After we were done with breakfast and waiting on the last character, our waiter brought out a card and cupcake for DD.

The princesses were quick to breeze through, but they did sign, pose and chat with DD a little. Since it was just the two of us, we didn't need much time anyhow

Our line up
Cinderella

Princess Aurora

The best interaction came from Snow White

but DD was most happy to see this character, one we hadn't seen before. Ariel in her human form

Last October when we were here we saw Snow White, Aurora, Mulan & Jasmine, so it was nice to have a switch.

We have had good luck with breakfast at Akershus. The cold buffet had quite a bit on it even though we didn't take anything. The food is good and comes quick, and DD likes being able to knock out all of her princess autographs in one quick setting. When she's in the park, she wants to ride, not wait in line for characters....especially not princesses since she's such a tomboy. This is another we'd do again!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Awesome reviews and pictures! Your daughter is adorable!

We were there the same time as you, Nov 17-24 (just got in a bit ago)

I had the same entree at Coral Reef and I loved it too!

 

[Chelley00]

I had the same entree at Coral Reef and I loved it too!

The lady sitting next to me saw mine and ordered it as well

 

[Chelley00]

Continuing with November 16th


Dinner tonight was a new restaurant for us

Salad and bread comes first. The salad was really good. I think the server said honey sherry vinagrette dressing?

The bread was fresh and the maple butter was incredible.

I'm not happy with my next picture The entree plate. Beef tenderloin with mashed potatoes (beef was very dry) Turkey with gravy, stuffing and cranberry sauce (was okay) and breaded mahi mahi with vegetables (was okay)

Nothing wowed us. The beef tasted good, but it was really dry. The turkey could have used more than just the dribble of gravy.

DD loved that the restaurant rotated, our server was really good and we had GREAT character interaction. Dale saw Mickey coming and drew a Mickey head on DD's autograph book, then showed it to him

Pluto spent lots of time at our table, even trying to sit down but didn't fit! The main reason we did this was to see Chip and Dale since DD loves them, and they both spent lots of time with her.

They brought DD a cupcake for her birthday

And our regular dessert. Blueberry buckle with vanilla bean whipped cream. Should we be ashamed to admit we ate pretty much all of it? It was so good, and since we didn't eat much dinner, we still had plenty of room.

Over all, I don't know that we'd go back. The salad, bread and dessert was very good, but the main courses not so much. The character interaction was fabulous and DD loved the concept of the rotating restaurant, but the food was just not up to par.

 

[Chelley00]

Later that night, we stopped to use a snack credit on a box of popcorn to split during Illuminations. DD ate half of it while walking to find a spot to sit. I have a picture of the box though

 

[Chelley00]

Nov 17.


Another in room breakfast. Today we went with blueberry muffins for me and poptarts for DD


Lunch today was at Columbia Harbor House.

DD once again went with PB&J (she can't eat it for lunch at school due to peanut allergies in her class, so I think she was making up for lost PB&J time!) Once again we tucked those carrots away for later. It's nice for us to have something to munch on while waiting in lines.

I did the Anchors Away sandwich: tuna, mayo, lettuce, tomato. It was very good, light and fresh. I'm not a fan of cheeseburgers, especially not in the middle of a warm afternoon, so this is such a nice change. Last year I had the cobb salad here and enjoyed it as well. I picked apple cobbler for dessert, which of course, DD and I shared. It was very yummy. We opened the chips, but they are very hard crunchy, so we just tossed them

We like to sit upstairs where we can watch the activity in and out of Haunted Mansion

 

[Linda67]

Wonderful reviews and lovely photos
Your DD looks like she is having an absolute blast

 

[Chelley00]

Dinner tonight was at

DD's plates. Chicken nuggets, pepperoni, cheese cubes, pizza, macaroni and cheese, and fried rice (from the adult buffet side)

She ate everything on her plate, so it must have been okay, however, her pizza looked a little dry.

I have to say I was disappointed with the offerings. The prime rib looked fatty/nasty and there really wasn't much else that looked appealing to me. It's okay, because I love the desserts here!

My plate: Peel and eat shrimp, cornbread, parmesan mashed potatoes, a pasta with cream sauce dish (it was okay) and salmon (ick)

I went back for a plate of salad, but didn't take a picture.


They brought DD a cupcake, and Goofy snuck up behind her and blew out her candle

My desserts. Cheesecake, key lime tart and Oreo bon bons.

Back for caramel/banana bread pudding. It was amazing

Poor Chef Mickeys. Our first trip in 06 it was our favorite meal. Last Oct we went and it was okay, but not as great as it had been. This time it was downright disappointing. Our waitress just looked frazzled, although she was nice. The food just looked a little like it had been out for awhile, and our dinner was only at 5:20. Mickey and Donald signed, posed and left quickly, but Minnie, Goofy and Pluto all played around, pointed at things, hugged etc. It's sad that the quality of the food and service has declined so much in just 3years.

 

[Chelley00]

Nov 18

This morning we had an early morning ADR at

I had read some pretty nasty reviews about this before we left, so I almost canceled, but I'm so glad we didn't! DD is not a fan of princesses, my poor tomboy, but she is a fan of filling up that autograph book, and this is a good place to knock out a few.

Cinderella. The picture they took with the breakfast package came out really well

We were led to our table and before we had even sat down had someone bring us bread and fruit. I was a little upset because I had read how they are starting to rush people in and out of there, and I didn't like having food thrown at me before I'm even seated, however, our waiter came over, introduced himself and told us not to rush, especially since there wasn't even a princess out yet. All through breakfast he kept telling us to take our time and that there was no hurry. I thought that was very nice and made me much happier about eating there.

The decorated the table with gold Cinderella carriage confetti for DD's birthday

We had a table by the window overlooking Fantasyland (and the wall they are building for the Fantasyland expansion

DD's plate came out very quickly after we ordered. French toast sticks, eggs and bacon

I was given 3 choices, yogurt/granola parfait, cream cheese stuffed french toast or omelet. I went with the stuffed french toast (this is the only reason I wanted to eat here!) I could eat this daily it's so good!

Can I just say that I was not a fan of the princesses here, other than Cinderella and Jasmine? Snow White seemed bored

and Aurora was too chatty. She just wasn't like the graceful, sweet Aurora from the movie (unlike the one from Akershus)

Belle was okay, she asked DD about reading books about wishes coming true or something since the wishing star ceremony had just finished

If you read our last trip report, we've always had bad luck with Jasmines. They've been really snotty or just plain weird. It's a running joke in our family when we see Jasmine or the Aladdin movie Finally, we get a genuinely nice Jasmine who is well into character.

Our waiter was fabulous, our drink glasses were never even half empty, he kept telling us to take our time, and he brought DD a cupcake, card and sang to her. He just made the whole experience relaxed and enjoyable.

I know this one gets a bad rap for being rushed, too expensive etc, but we really enjoyed it. The food was great, the characters were fine (although we did like the Akershus princesses better) and other than the food coming quickly, we were not rushed and our service was really good. Plus, you cannot beat walking down Main Street before 8am with very few other people, then walking up the spiral staircase into the castle to eat.

 

[KatMark]

Later that night, we stopped to use a snack credit on a box of popcorn to split during Illuminations. DD ate half of it while walking to find a spot to sit. I have a picture of the box though

My kind of girl! Gotta love Disney